Helping people on the street, one knapsack at a time

Project Winter Survival prepares to pack kits for the homeless

SIDEBAR

As the temperature drops, people who call the streets home will be in dire need of proper clothing and winter accessories.

That’s where Project Winter Survival comes in. Now in its 14th year, Project Winter Survival, founded by The Bargains Group president and CEO Jody Steinhauer, plans to assemble 3,000 kits for more than 100 agencies to distribute, along with raising $60,000 to purchase items that were not donated.

Last year, Project Winter Survival put together the same amount of kits, but the number would be much higher if Steinhauer could accommodate all requests, she said.

“Unfortunately, the numbers on the street are up,” she said. “We always joke around and say there are two things certain in life, death and taxes. I say there are three: death, taxes and poverty.”

And for the first time in Project Winter Survival’s history, the initiative is expanding outside Ontario and into Vancouver come January, thanks to a national sponsor.

“If we had the financial commitment we could be in every major Canadian city in 12 months,” Steinhauer said. “We’ve been pleading for the last 10 years of our need to go national.”

More than 15,000 kits, each filled with basic supplies to help those living on the streets stay warm during winter, have been assembled since the initiative’s start, she said.

A $25 donation sponsors an entire kit with a retail value of $165. The Salvation Army will issue tax receipts for donations of $25 or more.

Along with monetary donations, Project Winter Survival is also looking for new items for donation, such as toiletries, gloves, mittens and hats.

To donate or for information, visit www.bargainsgroup.com/project-winter-survival/ or call 416-785-5655.